Waiting on Kayleigh Heckel | Page 7 | The Boneyard

Waiting on Kayleigh Heckel

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pvdoggy said:
I like Heckel’s game but eight pages so far is quite amazing. Some actual commits do not even get the same amount of attention.
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Maybe paying a visit to Storrs stoked the dying embers?????? :):eek::rolleyes:
 
romath said:
I’m new here and don’t know if this was answered. Yes, it was an informative post (about credits and transfer eligibility). Some freshman get a quick start by having taken college credits in high school, assuming those are counted toward transfer eligibility, or have started early, either in the summer or even the previous winter term, like I believe Jana did. Another way is to load up in the fall term. Apparently, Heckel didn’t do any of those. In any case, USC exam week is May 7-14. I wouldn’t expect UConn to say anything because there’s nothing to say, these things being governed by rules and good sense and all.
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Romath: Welcome to the best WCBB team site, the home of the Huskies. Don't be intimidated, almost all here share a deep love and appreciation for everything women's Husky basketball. Be yourself, don't take BS from other members. There are a few pretenders here, but you will figure out who in time.
 
Monte said:
Song: "Please come to UCONN(Boston) in the spring time."
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I'm looking forward to the time that a BONEYARDER can
post the "HALLELUJAH CHORUS"!! or perhaps "OH HAPPY
DAY!" We should do a thread of our favorite "K9" songs
(You can take that anyway you like). By the way, I just
stared at my slave that it was well past the time when I should
go outside!!! "K9, be a HUSKY!!!"
 
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DemonDeac22 said:
We have obviously entered the “having your cake and eating it too” era of the UConn WBB Forum with Kayleigh Heckel…
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We're coming down slowly, very slowly, off a National Championship high, so allowance must be made for the occasional excess. I figure late August for a return to what passes for normal here in the Boneyard.
 
RockyMTblue2 said:
We're coming down slowly, very slowly, off a National Championship high, so allowance must be made for the occasional excess. I figure late August for a return to what passes for normal here in the Boneyard.
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Yeah. Around labor Day there will be wailing and gnashing of teeth over the fact that Geno is only 2 deep at all positions. :rolleyes:
 
IMG_0305.jpeg

Waiting for Heckel​
 
Prevailing considerations IMHO vis-a-vis Kayleigh Heckel prospective incoming transfer...

Pardon if any previously addressed. I have been perusing this forum periodically but have not seen, which has triggered this submission

1. Qadence Samuels roster/scholarship spot. To extent she has not declared her destination & presuming she can return-- which I believe is the right of every student athlete who enters the Portal. I recall seeing something about this herein but without elaboration;

2. Positional depth need. Kayleigh Heckel appears to be a PG or at least with such ability, whereas neither Allie Ziebel nor incoming Kelis Fisher are considered as such-- the former a textbook SG & latter a combo slasher as evidenced by her IMG tape. We need backup PG minutes & security behind emerging KK. We also know that Geno prefers an abundance of ball-handling guards who can run his offense; ergo, KC grad transfer/success as most recent example-- despite Paige & KK's roster presences (not to mention Azzi with combo ability);

3. Quality of player relative to existing/entering competing talent. Kayleigh Heckel was a Top-15 HS recruit, All-American, & Team USA gold medalist, I believe playing as their PG. Whereas Allie Ziebel has similar bona fides, she is a SG-- not a PG, as indicated above. Furthermore, Kelis Fisher is not of quite such rarified air as a prospect while not fitting PG textbook style of play. I also fear that Kelis Fisher might be closer to QS in terms of prospect caliber than the 5-star norm that UConn consistently attracts;

4. Opportunity cost for future recruiting/team building. NBA alumn sharpshooting wing Matt Harpring's daughter Kate seems to be the only pipeline HS point guard talent that trumps Kayleigh Heckel re: talent/ability/upside. So it would seem prudent to perhaps touch base with this prospective recruit to see if she may either commit early or is at least leaning strongly towards UConn before accepting Kayleigh Heckel's transfer. Alternatively, Kayleigh Heckel would provide 3 years of ongoing PG stability for Geno to weather the lacking such HS talent otherwise.

Comments, criticism welcome. Nice to be back. Have followed passively since withdraw. Thanks & Cheers
 
tower1 said:
I love KK. But she is best coming in from the bench. The way she changes the game is unreplaceable . No way would i make her a starter. She is definitely qualified but no one can do what she does coming in from the bench ! Heckel would be my choice to start she is very talented and the closest player to replace Paige.
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But how does that develop KK? It's still a University where students are there to develop and learn.
 
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My own view is if we miss out on Kayleigh can’t we get Jeckle? Their games are similar….
1746495562859.jpeg
 
tower1 said:
I love KK. But she is best coming in from the bench. The way she changes the game is unreplaceable . No way would i make her a starter. She is definitely qualified but no one can do what she does coming in from the bench ! Heckel would be my choice to start she is very talented and the closest player to replace Paige.
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I hear your concern, but I think it may be framed poorly. As long as we think the next PG is a replacement for Paige, we’ll never be satisfied with KK or Kayleigh. It might make more sense to think of either or both of them as filling Kaitlyn’s shoes.

Paige is one of the GOATs, not a plug-n-play piece that even can be replaced. Geno is looking to restructure the team to highlight Azzi and Sarah as they lead the team back to the finals. This is a very different coaching task. What does he need to put in place around this pair of bucket-getters? His answer seems to be a solid low-post scorer, a bunch of ballhandlers, and a bunch of athletic wings. No single one of them will replace Paige’s production. But in aggregate they might significantly exceed it.

Another way to frame this question: last season Geno outfoxed the rest of D1 WBB by developing a ferocious smalll-ball lineup. He took what others perceived as a weakness and made it a strength. This season, he’ll have the personnel to go in the other direction with a lineup that can go big with any opponent and still go small as needed. This will be a very flexible roster. The only question (other than health) is whether he’ll have as much perimeter talent as this season.

Geno’s not looking for another Paige. He’s looking to set Azzi up for a tremendous senior season, and to let Sarah grow into the superstar who will lead the team in the following two seasons. I’d say he’s pretty much successfully prepared the way for this already.
 
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With the recruiting shutdown period this week, can Heckel still contact Geno and Co to commit? Or would she have to wait until next week? If she hasn’t already
 
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Hayven said:
With the recruiting shutdown period this week, can Heckel still contact Geno and Co to commit? Or would she have to wait until next week? If she hasn’t already
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Does that apply to transfers or only to HS recruits?
 
Several people here have misunderstood me regarding Heckel if she comes here. Maybe I just haven't expressed myself very well. I would have no problem with KK starting at PG if we cannot obtain Heckel (but I think we already have). We all know that KK deserves it. However, selfishly I just don't want to lose the enormous impact KK provides by coming off the bench. It really has nothing to do with who might be the better PG, it's what would be best for the team. It worked so well with KK & Kaitlyn last season!
 
I think regardless if KK starts or not, she will play somewhere around 22-26 minutes a game. She played closer to 30 last year but I think this is an aberration. After all, even Sarah didn't play 30 a game this year and Page was just at 30 a game. I don't think it matters if she starts or not, but I suspect GA likes the juice she and Shade bring off the bench.
 
Just.A.Fan said:
Several people here have misunderstood me regarding Heckel if she comes here. Maybe I just haven't expressed myself very well. I would have no problem with KK starting at PG if we cannot obtain Heckel (but I think we already have). We all know that KK deserves it. However, selfishly I just don't want to lose the enormous impact KK provides by coming off the bench. It really has nothing to do with who might be the better PG, it's what would be best for the team. It worked so well with KK & Kaitlyn last season!
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I think it's the selfish part when we are dealing with developing youth that I take issue with. KK needs to step into the starting PG role to keep moving forward in her career. She can't get pigeon holed by anyone just because she is really good at a certain aspect of the game.
 
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Up to 9 pages for this Kayleigh Heckel?
6.1 PTS, 1.4 REB, 1.9 AST, 45.9% FG, 28.3% 3PT, 16.9 MIN

She looks like a great backup PG to me. Where are all the "Nika shouldn't start" people when you need them?
 
Another perfective. While I agree that Huskies could use another "point guard," would love to see them get one that could also create her own offense. The past few years, with Azzi frequently being out, when Paige slowed down, much of the time so did the offense. Slade is a good jump shooter, Arnold has a great drive to the basket, etc. but having one on one talents opens the floor for Strong, particularly when Azzi needs a break. This is a top 5 team no matter what but having this offensive skill could be that final key to the Championship.
 
I think too many are assuming we need to "replace" Paige. Reality check - you can't replace Paige.

Geno has 40+ years of coaching at the highest level. Don't think there is anything he hasn't seen or done.

The way the offense and defense function will not change. The players will change. The execution of both will look difference. You build around the talents you have. Again, Geno is the master.

Right now, KK is the successor to the PG role. She has earned it. And a reminder, KK started at PG in 2023 - 2024 as a freshman. That team went to the final four. Too many want to pigeon hole KK into the past year's role. If you have ever coached, you know that's a no-no. Especially for a potential transfer who has not committed yet and only avaeage 16 minutes a game.

Ash was a starter on the 2023 - 2024 team. She averaged 9.1 points per game. She shot the 3 well. The criticism she is a streaky shooter and doesn't have a pull up jumper in the lane. First, most 3 point shooters are streaky. Second, Ash does have the pull up jumper in the lane and she can drive the lane. Her role this past season did not allow her to do a lot of that. The offense was tailored to the Big 3.

The 2025 - 2026 team will evolve just as this past year's team did.
 
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